In Your Share This Week

Carrots

Celeriac

Corn (please read below)

Kale

Leeks

Parsley

Winter Squash, Delicata

Crop Notes

Corn: The results of our late-season corn trial are in! We planted an assortment of varieties to see how they all performed, so you may see yellow, bi-color, or white corn in your share this week. The ears are a little smaller than summer corn, but its an exciting final taste of summer. The only downside we saw with this trial was the prevalence of worms…so what we would advise doingbefore shucking or anything else is to grab a sharp and/or large knife and hack about 1 inch off the tip of the ear. That should eliminate the portion that contains the worm and all the grossness around it. Now you’re ready to shuck and eat!

Kale: This week we are featuring Red Russian for everyone, which you all have seen in your shares throughout the season. Full Share members will also receive a bunch of White Russian, which has broader leaves and a more delicate texture.

Around the Farm

We are in the full swing of Fall, and spending most of our days harvesting crops like carrots, beets, celeriac, kohlrabi, and cabbage before the rains start in earnest and harvest becomes a sloppy mudfest. We are also excited to be doing a lot of field cleanup- removing drip tape, taking down cucumber trellises, and turning the summer fields over to our winter cover crops. Large portions of the farm are now emerald green carpets of cover crop that are turning sunlight and water into next season’s fertility, reducing soil compaction or erosion (from rain), increasing organic matter, preventing nutrients from washing away (also from rain), and keeping the weeds at bay. We select specific cover crops or mixes for each field depending on the time of year, what has been previously grown there, any prevalent pests or diseases, and what may be grown there in the future.

We also were very excited to provide some late-season Poblano peppers to Hot Winter Hot Sauce, a great local company thats making a zesty rainbow of hot sauces with a great mission. You can find them all over Portland at New Seasons, Green Zebra, Alberta Coop, Food Front, or Barbur World Foods. Go grab a few bottles and spice up your life!